Why we must never forget the atrocities, brutal murders and gangrapes in CPM-era Bengal

CPM rule in West Bengal is not only a story of economic mismanagement and disaster that completely ruined the state’s financial systems; their 34 years rule is also a nightmare comprising of some of the most brutal murders, lynchings and rapes in the political history of India. In post independent India, sudden disappearances, violent broad daylight murders and gang rapes as political weapons to instill fear and silence all opposing voices, were honed to perfection by the CPM in West Bengal, especially under Jyoti Basu’s regime. Such was the fear that despite failing economy and growing violence in the state in the 80s-90s with people moving out of the state in large numbers for better job opportunities, CPM remained in power for three long decades (1977-2011). In my article I will give brief details of four of the most brutal and infamous political massacres under the CPM rule in West Bengal.

1. Sainbari murders: This incident is seen as the start of unspeakable violent political murders in the history of West Bengal politics post-Independence, a trend that continues even today. On 17 March 1970, CPM goons attacked the Sain brothers who had a strong allegiance towards the Indian National Congress. Naba Kumar Sain, the eldest brother had his eyes gouged out, while his two younger brothers, Malay and Pranab were hacked to death in front of the women family members. Then the mother of the Sain brothers was forced to eat rice smeared with the blood of her two younger sons. Naba Kumar Sain, the eldest brother who was blinded, was also killed a year later.

One of the daughters-in-law of the family, Rekha Rani, spoke of the horrors of that day in an interview with the Indian Express_- “My brothers-in-laws Pranab Kumar Sain and Malay Kumar Sain and Jitendranath Rai, a private tutor who had come to teach the kids, were hacked in front of my eyes. I was 26. It all began at 7.30 am… people stared pelting stones on our house. Later, they set it on fire…My mother-in-law, Mrignayana Devi, tried to stop the attackers but she was hit on her head. Two attackers mixed Pranab and Malay’s blood with rice and forced it into her mouth… She was taken to the hospital… she survived.” The attack took place on the day of Swarnalata’s one-month-old son Amrit Kumar Josh’s Sashthi ritual (Swarnalata Josh, is the daughter of the Sain family). The CPM goons also tried throwing the new-born baby (Amrit Kumar Josh) into the fire; however, the child was saved with the help of the locals. The now 53-year-old, Amrit Kumar Josh, in an interview with The Times of India (2011) had said, “I could have died that day. But like my family, I still bear the mental scars. It’s unfortunate that we are still ruled by a party that believes in ruling by terror.” The victims still wait for justice in the case.

2. Dhantola rape and murder case: At midnight on 5 February 2003 seven goons attacked two buses that were carrying marriage parties near a under construction madrasa at Beldanga village on Dhantala-Ainshmali road. A brick wall blockade was set up on the road, and a bus which was returning to Kuchiamora in North 24-Parganas after attending a marriage at Kamgachi in Ranaghat, was first attacked. The bus driver Samir Ghosh was killed, and the passengers were looted of their money and ornaments. The women in the bus were then dragged to a nearby field and six of them were raped. Meanwhile, another bus arrived at the spot, which was also carrying marriage party from Eruli and was returning from Sarishadanga, and the goons carried out the same atrocities on the passengers. The horrific happenings went on until dawn the next day. Subsequently, two CPM leaders Subol Bagchi and Saidul Islam Karigar and others were arrested for orchestrating the entire incident. Another associated case with this incident was the murder of Chandan Sen, a surgeon at Ranaghat subdivisional hospital who had supposedly carried out tests on the Dhantola rape victims.

The victims never got any proper justice as the two main suspects were soon let off by the police.

3. The Bantola rape case, 1990: Anita Dewan (Deputy District Extension Media Officer), Uma Ghosh (Senior Officer, West Bengal Health Department), Renu Ghosh (UNICEF and WHO Representative, Delhi), Avni Naiya (Driver). Beyond West Bengal, not many people know their names. Who were these people?

To know who they are we have to travel back in time to a cursed 30 May, 30 years ago. On 30 May 1990, after completion of a vaccination programme in Gosaba, three health officers were returning to Kolkata. At around 6:30 pm, when they reached Bantola on the Eastern bypass road, 4-5 men tried stopping the car near the CPM party office, but the driver sensing something wrong, didn’t stop. Unfortunately, the car overturned while trying to flee, and immediately another 10-12 group of men arrived on the accident spot. The people inside the car were dragged out, and the car put on fire. The driver Avni Naiya tried to stop the men, but they crushed his genitals as a punishment for protesting. He was later taken to SSKM hospital where his autopsy revealed 43 injury marks on the body. Avni Naiya died on 4 June 1990 at 5:40 am. This was the case of the driver. What happened to the rest? The three women officers were dragged to a nearby paddy field and gangraped by the goons. The one who tried to stop the rapists was killed. The police reached five hours later and transferred the naked bodies of the three women to the emergency department of National Medical College, and the doctors too thought all three were brought dead. However, soon they realised two of the three women were still alive, and their treatment started. The dead woman was Anita Dewan. While her autopsy was going on, the lady doctor who was performing the autopsy fainted at the spot after discovering a one-foot-long metallic torch inside Anita Dewan’s private parts. West Bengal’s then health minister Prasanta Sur said the villagers had mistaken the women as child kidnappers and traffickers. The chief minister Jyoti Basu said - such things keep happening! Later the ex-Director of the Asian Development Bank, D Bandhopadhyay had said in his talk with Sumonto Banerjee, that the funds for rural development sent by the UNICEF were misused by the village CPM run panchayats. Anita Dewan had learned of this misuse and appropriation of funds, and after she had collected all required evidences from Gosaba, was attacked by the communist goons on her way back to Kolkata. When the car was burned, all evidences were burned with it. Anita Dewan not only lost all her painstakingly collected evidences that day, she lost her dignity and her life too, for trying to expose the CPM government. Another 30 May went by, the names Anita Dewan and Avni Naiya still wait for justice as none of their killers ever received any punishment.

4. Anandamargi murder case: On the 30 of April, 1982, by the side of Bejon Setu (Ballygunge) 16 monks and a nun of the Anandamargi order (a Hindu organisation) were brutally lynched and set on fire in broad daylight. These monks were on their way to an educational conference at their headquarters in Tiljala, Kolkata, when they were dragged out of their cars, first beaten with rods and sticks, then their heads bashed in with shovels, eyes gouged out with knives, petrol and acid poured on their bodies, and finally set on fire while still alive. Later the half-burnt bodies were placed on the nearby train line. The doms refused to remove the bodies seeing their horrific state, and finally the police themselves had to remove the bodies for post mortem and other formalities. Later the police recovered the nun’s (Supriya Brahmacharini) shawl and gold watch from the house of CPM leader Sambhu Naskar, but pressure from the CPM government forced the police to remain silent on the matter.

While the barbaric nature of the incident had shocked all across the world, the West Bengal chief minister in his casual style had said, “This is a stray incident.” While the CPM state head Promod Dasgupta went a step ahead and declared that these heinous murders were committed by the public that had mistaken the monks as child-lifters, a favourite statement which the CPM would loosely apply on many of the political murders committed by their goons. An Additional District Magistrate of 24 Paraganas Sher Singh in an interview had hinted that a land dispute. This dispute over a forced illegal control over a land plot belonging to the family of Rani Rashmoni led to few CPM leaders plotting the brutal murders of the 17 Anandamargi monks to teach the Margis a lesson and were done in a manner which would create a sense of terror and not be forgotten easily. It was Somnath Chatterjee (a MP and the Speaker of the Indian Parliament 2004-2009) who was the legal advisor behind the illegal and forced takeover of the Rani Rashmoni family land while the various plans to terrorise and finish off the Anandamargis were made by CPM leaders like Kanti Ganguly, Robin Deb, etc. While the killings were witnessed by many people, not a single arrest was ever made. It was only in 2012 that a single-member judicial commission (Justice Amitabh Lala Commission) was set up to investigate the killings. The Commission had filed its report in 2019, but until today in 2023, the report has not been released by the West Bengal government. The rule that the CPM-led Communist government had enforced on the people of West Bengal was brutal to say the least. The CPM leaders who day in and day out scream “Fascism” and “Death of Democracy” at the current BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, must remember how they had ruled West Bengal for 30 odd years with an iron hand, with no respect for the lives and properties of the common man. If they forget, then it is the duty of the common citizens to remind them daily of the atrocities committed by their regime in West Bengal. Never forgive and never forget is the only mantra for the rule of CPM in West Bengal. The author is a well-known travel and heritage writer. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram ._